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PRACTICALLY three out of every ten Spanish women do not use a contraceptive on their first sexual encounter, according to the Daphne poll on “Contraceptive attitudes in European women”. The report was presented by Dr Isabel Serrano, gynaecologist for Madrid council and spokesperson for the Spanish Federation for Family Planning, with Ezequiel Perez Campos, chairman of the Spanish Contraceptive Society. They said that only 10 percent of Spanish women consult a doctor about contraceptive methods before having their first sexual encounter which, for the majority (76 percent), happens between the ages of 16 and 20.

In this, Spain is equal to the average in the rest of the European countries, but not in the visit to the doctor before the first sexual encounter. For this, Germany heads the list (41 percent), followed by France (34 percent), Austria (30 percent), the United Kingdom (25 percent), and Italy (19 percent). The average number of European women who don't use a contraceptive during their first sexual encounter is, as in Spain, around 30 percent, according to this poll which was conducted by a pharmaceutical laboratory among 11'490 women between 15 and 49 years old from 14 European countries. The condom is the contraceptive most used in Spain, with more than 70 percent of women using them as their preferred contraceptive measure. Italy and the United Kingdom follow with around 40 percent. In other countries such as France and Germany, the pill is the preferred method for almost 60 percent of women. Serrano explained that Spain is also ahead on female sterilisation (around 17 percent).
Serrano said that it is very necessary to use a double contraceptive method, the condom and another form of contraceptive, to ensure greater safety and effectiveness. She said that, at times, the condom is not used properly or is not used at all.